That really sucks. Well, heads up for the rest of us! Muhle razors (if new) it is. Just as I have a standing semi-boycott of GFT products I shall honor the OP in a semi-boycott of Merkur products - not that a single person like me could make a difference but hey I have better people to give my money to! I agree with most of the people when they say you shouldn't have been so sarcastic on your final email but that lady definitely was asking for it. This is sort of what I hate about email/internet communication. I'd be willing to bet if it had been a casual face to face conversation with customer service this wouldn't have happened.
Dovo and Merkur Customer Service doesn't impress.
- Thread starter xraygun
- Start date
If anyone thinks that ANY conversation/correspondence carried on on the internet is in any way "private" I've got bad news for them....
When any representative of any vendor/manufacturer sends a message, be it hard copy, email or what have you, they should fully conduct themselves in such a way as to EXPECT that their correspondence may quite possibly been seen by tens, hundreds, thousands, or even millions of other people.
If they carry on a conversation over the phone, you'd better know what state the other person is in (U.S.), because your conversation may possibly be recorded by the other person. Many states do not require you to tell the other party the conversation is being recorded, as long as 1 person in the conversation (you) is aware it is being recorded, it's legal. (I used that one a couple years ago with a Sprint representative to get out of a contract when they lied to me about a service they were gong to provide to me... Just sent a complaint & the recording to the Iowa Attorney General's office, a few weeks later I got a nice apology & money refunded.)
There are sites dedicated to reporting poor customer satisfaction and a company who provides poor service/satisfaction and companies are either aware of this or should be.
The thing I've noticed here, as opposed to those sites is that people are blaming the OP here for reporting a problem and talking bad about a company that many people on here happen to own products of/like, but I haven't seen much "Oh, I've recently had GREAT customer service from Merkur/Dovo" Yes, I've seen some "a few years back" posts, but if the company's goals have changed from "customer satisfaction/good affordable product" to "pure profit/drive the brand into the ground and take out what profit we can along the way", then we need to be aware of it. On most of the sites dedicated to poor customer service for companies, you often at least see people defending the company with examples of GOOD performance... I'm just not seeing that here, and I'm rather sure that if it was happening on a regular basis, the Merkur fans would be lining up to say how great the service is.
As to whether or not it was polite to post it? It wasn't polite of the company to not take the time (or to acknowledge) that it was a clear manufacturing defect, accusing it of being carbon steel when the product is clearly marked stainless, and to not stand behind their product.
Is the OP supposed to just eat his losses, letting Dovo keep the profit from his purchase of the defective clippers? Me, I would have done my best to reduce the companies profits in the same way as they reduced my pocket book balance. Actually the OP just presented the facts here (his correspondence with the company.) it's up to each of us to determine whether we consider the companies response to be good or bad customer service.
Even the best of companies can not always make sure that every product they produce is absolutely perfect, but they CAN stand behind what they produce.
When any representative of any vendor/manufacturer sends a message, be it hard copy, email or what have you, they should fully conduct themselves in such a way as to EXPECT that their correspondence may quite possibly been seen by tens, hundreds, thousands, or even millions of other people.
If they carry on a conversation over the phone, you'd better know what state the other person is in (U.S.), because your conversation may possibly be recorded by the other person. Many states do not require you to tell the other party the conversation is being recorded, as long as 1 person in the conversation (you) is aware it is being recorded, it's legal. (I used that one a couple years ago with a Sprint representative to get out of a contract when they lied to me about a service they were gong to provide to me... Just sent a complaint & the recording to the Iowa Attorney General's office, a few weeks later I got a nice apology & money refunded.)
There are sites dedicated to reporting poor customer satisfaction and a company who provides poor service/satisfaction and companies are either aware of this or should be.
The thing I've noticed here, as opposed to those sites is that people are blaming the OP here for reporting a problem and talking bad about a company that many people on here happen to own products of/like, but I haven't seen much "Oh, I've recently had GREAT customer service from Merkur/Dovo" Yes, I've seen some "a few years back" posts, but if the company's goals have changed from "customer satisfaction/good affordable product" to "pure profit/drive the brand into the ground and take out what profit we can along the way", then we need to be aware of it. On most of the sites dedicated to poor customer service for companies, you often at least see people defending the company with examples of GOOD performance... I'm just not seeing that here, and I'm rather sure that if it was happening on a regular basis, the Merkur fans would be lining up to say how great the service is.
As to whether or not it was polite to post it? It wasn't polite of the company to not take the time (or to acknowledge) that it was a clear manufacturing defect, accusing it of being carbon steel when the product is clearly marked stainless, and to not stand behind their product.
Is the OP supposed to just eat his losses, letting Dovo keep the profit from his purchase of the defective clippers? Me, I would have done my best to reduce the companies profits in the same way as they reduced my pocket book balance. Actually the OP just presented the facts here (his correspondence with the company.) it's up to each of us to determine whether we consider the companies response to be good or bad customer service.
Even the best of companies can not always make sure that every product they produce is absolutely perfect, but they CAN stand behind what they produce.
+1+1
Dovo's explanation of the failure here (and in other razor threads, where they indicate exposure to water causes plating failure; hello!! It's a razor, it gets constant exposure to water!) is absurd. I am convinced they must think their customer's are total, and complete buffoons. I think you feel rightly insulted!! The recent responses I have seen from Dovo Customer Service, show a total lack of respect for their customer's, and are the exact opposite of what customer service should be.
Their responses are absurd. They need to find a new customer service rep immediately!!
+1
+1
+1
Ftfy
It's pretty clear to me that Dovo's been charging a premium for a quality they don't deliver. They've been selling their products as warrantied, then they weasel out of honoring the warranty, even going so far as to not include the required warranty cards in the first place. Absolutely shameful.
Sure the OP could have been nicer about it, but honoring your word should not be conditional on how nicely the world asks you to do it. The fact that he might have been able to sweet talk her into honoring the warranty does not make it any less despicable that she didn't. If someone is angry with you for misbehaving that does not give you the right to act even worse, nor does it mean that it's their fault you aren't acting right in the first place.
Wow, seriously, are the personal attacks necessary?
Regardless of how you think the O.P. may have misacted, it doesn't change the fact that Dovo/ Merkur has seriously dropped the ball in this matter.
The outcome would have been the same regardless of his attitude, as it was clear from the getgo that they had no intention of honoring the warranty.
Stop focusing on minor issues, and look at the bigger picture!!
Double standards at play here mate. If that constitutes a personal attack, have a look at some of the language in this thread.
Minor issues you say? This whole thread is the minor issue. If Op had conducted himself differently, it may not even need to have existed.
Minor issues you say? This whole thread is the minor issue. If Op had conducted himself differently, it may not even need to have existed.
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- Thread starter
- #66
Roger has taken exception to my conduct from the beginning of this thread. His original post very early on, (which he deleted) was very direct. I believe I have already offered an apology to all offended, but to Roger directly I'm sorry if my post has offended you. I will immediately "get a life" as you so kindly originally instructed.
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100% completely and wholly false.
I only have one merkur razor I got when my sister got it for me on my bday. Let's just say i won't be buying any more merkur products . Too many other good companies out there . I work too hard for my money to just throw it away
The essence of the problem in a nutshell. A couple of years ago lots of stories about great customer service from Merkur popped up at B&B but lately all I see is depressing stories. This combined with the less than stellar finish of their products make their products less desirable for sure.
Too bad because in theory they have a great range of products to choose from and I would like to give them credit for supporting DE shaving for decades while most other companies were not very interested in the matter. As it is now I would not want to take chances and get my products from other sources; they should realize that they are not the only serious player in the field anymore and once they loose the customers trust things can go downhill pretty fast.
+1!
I also want to add: the person who handles warranty issues should at least know a thing or two about steel. Things like hardening, tempering, normalizing and the iron-carbon diagram are a bare minimum to judge whether or not something isn't a production error. If this was about something more expensive, I would even take it to the level of filing a complaint about making unsafe products. Because that thing could have easily hurt your legs, hands or feet. A company that sells its quality definition as transcendent, should be giving you a replacement and money to shut up about the matter, even if the product was 30 years old!
For example: I read in a customers magazine(test-aankoop) about a man who had a Kenwood coffee machine. It was 30 or 20 YO and a specific part broke down. The part wasn't available anymore, so Kenwood offered him a new coffeemaker at a discount. Now THAT is how a renown company should treat customers!
For example: I read in a customers magazine(test-aankoop) about a man who had a Kenwood coffee machine. It was 30 or 20 YO and a specific part broke down. The part wasn't available anymore, so Kenwood offered him a new coffeemaker at a discount. Now THAT is how a renown company should treat customers!
Especially since this incident was in a field that is a lot more important to them than razors. DEs are only a fraction of their business, scissors and other items for personal grooming (sorry, don't know the English word) are what they really sell in numbers.
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